The VIPP Report: Louisville native and boxing legend Muhammad Ali celebrates his 73rd birthday today with family and close friends. The Greatest of all time, (GOAT) has been in and out of the hospital the last month, recovering from an inflection. As the Louisville Lip continues to recover his hometown will celebrate tonight with a dinner, the world premiere of And in This Ring….Cassius Clay production and two new temporary exhibits will be on display at the Muhammad Ali Center.

Today, Ali is trending on social media with fans, celebrities and athletes from all over the world sending him birthday wishes. The Ali family appreciates all of the prayers and well wishes but they are requesting privacy as they focus on Ali’s recovery.

To celebrate Ali’s birthday, I wanted to share one of the quotes that I love, “If you even dream of beating me you’d better wake up and apologize”. #GOAT #LouisvilleLip #TheChampishere #Ali #boxinglegend #itsmorethanastory #itshistory

The VIPP Report was created by Sherlene Shanklin who’s also a Louisville, KY native. She has been following the “Greatest” pretty much her whole adult life, even prior to starting her 20 plus years in the broadcast industry. She’s covered numerous events, honors and special appearances Muhammad Ali has made over the years.

Shanklin is an Assignment Editor and the creator of The411 with Sherlene Shanklin at WHAS 11 Television, ABC affiliate which finds unique stories and finds a way to put a local spin on them. You can follow her on Twitter @Sherlenemediapr.